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Industry4Europe is a coalition of around 130 manufacturer associations committed towards the achievement of an ambitious EU industrial strategy.

#Industry4Europe initiative, CEPI's a part of, has released four documents in the past months.

A governance structure
1. Ensuring an informed and permanent dialogue between the industry and policy decision-makers in association with civil society stakeholders (trade unions, consumers organisations, NGOs, academia) and;
2. A structure of European Institutions which allows for an Industrial Strategy to be addressed and implemented at highest level.

Setting indicators
The aim is to propose a short list of indicators that can be used to both assess the health of the European industry and monitor the progress made by the EU on the implementation of its industrial strategy.

Declaration on industrial on EU industrial strategy The representatives of the European manufacturing industry call on the European Commission to, among other things, refirm the commitment to reaching the target of 20% of GDP from industry, with an ambitious and realistic timeline and.

The EU has today released a report related to a Trade Barrier Regulation ("TBR") investigation launched following a complaint lodged by CEPI, the European association representing the paper industry. The report upheld the complaint finding that the measures imposed by Turkey on the imports of certain varieties of paper such as office paper, books, envelopes and paper used for direct mail marketing (otherwise known as uncoated wood free (“UWF”) paper) from the EU were inconsistent with both WTO and the EU–Turkey Customs Union rules.

"CEPI takes pride in its strong commitment to free trade with its partners. The decision by the Turkish authorities to remove these unfair measures is applaudable; however this issue should never have been escalated in the first place. It is our expectation that the Turkish authorities stand by their obligations under the EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement in the future” says Sylvain Lhôte, Director General at CEPI.

In advance of the Commission’s publication of the report Turkey removed the unfair trade measures. With this in mind, the EU has decided not to pursue the matter further. The industry will however remain vigilant that similar measures do not hinder the free flow of trade between the EU and Turkey in the future, particularly in light of the modernisation of the EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement.

Background to the trade complaint:
Following an inconclusive safeguard investigation on UWF imports in 2014-2015, Turkey extended in 2016 an existing import licensing system which targeted €150 million of EU exports of UWF paper products.The Turkish non-automatic import licensing system with regard to UWF paper was based on an arbitrary price threshold and created a significant and unfair obstacle to EU-Turkey trade. The contested system posed a clear violation of WTO and the EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement. The European paper industry already exports 22% of its produce outside the EU and will continue to remain an advocate for free trade and take a firm stance where this is put at risk.

Today the EU decided to launch investigations against Turkey for breach of EU-Turkey Customs Union and WTO rules confirming the validity of a complaint lodged by the European paper industry.

CEPI, the independent voice of the paper industry in Europe, presented a trade complaint (Trade Barrier Regulation (“TBR”)) to the European Commission on the 24 April 2017. The complaint concerned the unfair non-automatic import licensing system established by Turkey concerning, inter alia, EU exports of certain varieties of paper including office paper, books, envelopes and paper used for direct mail marketing (otherwise known as uncoated wood free (“UWF”) paper). This is both the first time a TBR complaint has been launched in almost ten years and the first time CEPI as an industry association has lodged a trade complaint.

"Today’s launch of this investigation is an indictment of the Turkish authorities’ reluctance to maintain a level-playing field when it comes to free trade. Turkey should withdraw, in the spirit of the EU-Turkey Customs Union and its WTO commitments, any unfair trade barriers” say Sylvain Lhôte, Director General at CEPI.

The unfair non-automatic import licensing system puts at risk over €150 million worth of EU exports of these varieties of paper. At a time when global free trade is under increasing pressure the European paper industry urges the Turkish authorities to stand on the side of free trade. The paper industry already exports 22% of its entire produce outside the EU and will continue to remain an advocate for free trade and take a firm stance where this is put at risk.

What can be expected next? Within a five to seven month period the Commission will now engage in a detailed investigation of the concerns raised by CEPI resulting in a report which may warrant the launch of WTO proceedings.

Background to the trade complaint: Following an inconclusive safeguard investigation on UWF imports in 2014-2015, Turkey extended in 2016 an existing import licensing system which targeted €150 million of EU exports of UWF paper products. The Turkish non-automatic import licensing system with regard to UWF paper is based on an arbitrary price threshold and creates a significant and unfair obstacle to EU-Turkey trade. As such, the contested system poses a clear violation of WTO and EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement.

Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union: the link to the publication can be consulted here.

CEPI (the Confederation of European Paper Industries) has presented a Trade Barrier Regulation (“TBR”) complaint to the European Commission against the unfair non-automatic import licensing system established by Turkey concerning, inter alia, EU exports of uncoated wood free (“UWF”) paper, which includes office paper, books, envelopes and paper used for direct mail marketing.

Following an inconclusive safeguard investigation on UWF imports in 2014-2015, Turkey extended in 2016 an existing import licensing system which targeted €150 million of EU exports of UWF paper products.

The Turkish non-automatic import licensing system with regard to UWF paper is based on an arbitrary price threshold and creates a significant and unfair obstacle to EU-Turkey trade. As such, the contested system poses a clear violation of WTO and EU-Turkey Customs Union Agreement which the Commission is currently seeking to strengthen.

“The European pulp and paper industry exports more than 20% of its production worldwide. It is essential that the EU ensures with all its trading partners the full respect of free trade and fair competition rules we have in bilateral agreements like with Turkey and at WTO level” say Sylvain Lhôte

For more information, please contact Bernard Lombard at b.lombard@cepi.org or by phone at (+32) 2 627 49 22